HAARLEM, Netherlands (AP) — Palwasha Hamzad wants the Dutch election to be not about migration, but about tackling the chronic housing shortages in the Netherlands.

For Daniëlle Vergauwen, it’s about putting “our own people” first.

Their opposing views sum up two of the key issues in campaigning for the Oct. 29 election for all 150 seats in the Dutch parliament’s legislative House of Representatives. They also echo debates about migration across Europe as right-wing politics gain support.

Wilders’ stunning victory

Far-right, anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders ‘ Party for Freedom, known by its Dutch acronym PVV, swept to a shock victory in 2023 on a pledge to drastically rein in migration. He triggered the downfall of the subsequent four-party coalition government in June by withdrawing

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